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Sacked minister waves red diary in Rajasthan assembly, says it’s proof of graft
The Rajasthan Assembly suspended Rajendra Gudha and BJP MLA Madan Dilawar for unparliamentary behaviour for the remaining sessions of the 15th assembly
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan assembly witnessed unruly scenes on Monday when sacked minister Rajendra Gudha aggressively charged towards parliamentary affair minister, Shanti Dhariwal, and hit his microphone, prompting other Congress MLAs to restrain him.
The marshals on duty at the assembly had to forcibly remove Gudha out of the premises.
The House suspended Gudha and BJP MLA Madan Dilawar for unparliamentary behaviour for the remaining sessions of the 15th assembly.
Gudha was sacked by chief minister Ashok Gehlot hours after he raised concerns over the safety of women in Rajasthan in a speech he delivered in the assembly last week, HT had earlier reported.
On Monday, Gudha had initially approached the speaker, waving a red diary that he claimed had details of irregular financial transactions involving government officials.
Gudha entered the house during the assembly’s Zero Hour and rushed towards speaker CP Joshi’s chair, waiving the diary. He asked time from Joshi to narrate his version of events that led to his sacking from the state council of ministers.
The speaker, however, asked him to come to his chamber.
Gudha, however, aggressively approached minister Dhariwal and hit his microphone when he saw that the speaker had allowed the minister to speak.
It led to a number of Congress MLAs to first surround, and then push him away from Dhariwal.
Rafiq Khan, a Congress MLA, was among the legislators who stopped Gudha; minister Ramlal Jat and other Congress MLAs also came forward and stopped him from creating more unruly scenes.
All this while, the opposition BJP continued to create uproar in the Well of the house, while waving symbolic ‘red diaries’.
The speaker subsequently adjourned the house because of the melee that had broken out.
The House reassembled at 2 pm and the speaker CP Joshi took up listed business.
Then it was time for the opposition members to create uproar in the well of the house.
Leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore raised the issue of the ‘red diary’ and the BJP MLAs stormed to the well.
After the house was adjourned, Gudha, addressing the media, said that he wanted to give a statement on the red diary but the speaker did not allow it.
“Shanti Dhariwal stood to speak and I went to him and said that I wanted to give a statement in the House, but Congress MLAs pushed me to the ground and overpowered me. Some of them, including Dhariwal, kicked me and snatched the diary from me. However, some part of the diary was left with me,” he alleged.
Gudha said he will make public the “secrets” of the diary on Tuesday.
The sacked minister claimed that the diary was “secured” by him during an income tax raid at the residence of Dharmendra Rathore, the chairperson of the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC). Gehlot had asked him to go to Rathore’s residence to secure the diary during the raid, Gudha claimed.
He claimed that the diary -- allegedly written by Rathore -- contained details of the money given to MLAs and it contained the names of the chief minister as well as his son Vaibhav Gehlot.
Rathore, the opposition leader, told reporters that what happened in the assembly was shameful. “Gudha wanted to give a statement and he should have been allowed,” he said.
Rathore said the government passed four bills and resolutions in “haste” but norms were not followed.
On the allegations levelled by Gudha, Mahesh Joshi, public health engineering department minister, said: “All the allegations are baseless. Everyone should follow the conduct of the house, whatever happened today is unfortunate.”
